serves
6-8
prep
15 minutes
cook
15 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
6-8
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
15
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
Ingredients
- 200 g (generous 1 cup) brown sugar
- 275 ml (generous 1 cup) water, at room temperature
- 350 g (3 cups) chestnut flour, plus extra for dusting
- 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed
- 100 ml (scant ½ cup) sunflower oil or ghee
- sunflower oil, for deep-frying
Resting time: 10 minutes.
Instructions
- Place the sugar and water in a pan and bring to the boil until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, crushed fennel seeds and measured oil or ghee and bring together, making sure there are no loose crumbs, before gently adding the sugar water. Knead into a dough, then leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Pour sunflower oil into a deep, heavy-based pan to a depth of 8 cm (3 in). Place over a medium heat and heat to 180°C/350°F on a digital thermometer. Alternatively, you can drop in a tiny piece of bread: if it sizzles and browns in 15 seconds, the oil is hot enough.
- While the oil is getting hot, divide the dough into 4 equal-sized balls, dust with a little flour and roll out as you would a chapatti. Cut each disc into 5 cm diamond-shaped pieces.
- Once the oil is hot, fry the diamonds for 3–4 minutes until brown and crispy. You may need to do this in batches. Remove to drain on paper towels.
- Store in an airtight container for 2–3 weeks and enjoy with a cup of chai or on their own.
Recipe and image from On the Himalayan Trail: Recipes and Stories from Kashmir to Ladakh by Romy Gill, photography by Poras Chaudhary and Matt Russel (Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55, available in-stores nationally). Read an extract from the book .
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
